Tag Archives: cyber operations

Tallinn Manual 2.0 – On The International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations By the NATO Cooperative Cyber Centre of Excellence Cambridge University Press – £49.99

Given the high-octane shenanigans currently taking place amid the Washington corridors of prime narcissistic persuasion – at the vanguard of which stands the vile, most bigoted and unpleasant leader the supposed Free World has ever known – surely it can only be considered a good thing that we have an open book such as this.

A publication which delves into the cyber operati of disingenuous fakedom.

Vladimir Putin’s laire if you will; aided and wholeheartedly abetted by such unsavoury characters as Donald of the Trump, Stephen Bannon, Stephen Miller, Jeff Sessions and dare one come totally clean, the UK’s very own elderly Hitler Youth in disguise, Nigel Farage and Michael Gove.

That’s right folks, the cryptic consortium of Lies Are Us.

Not there so much for the choosing, but rather, the total perversion of (their own miscalculated) justice. All the more reason that Tallinn Manual 2.0 – On The International Law Applicable to Cyber Operationsneeds to be roundly and justifiably applauded. As not only does it expand upon the highly influential first edition by extending its coverage of the international law governing cyber warfare to peacetime legal regimes, it is also the product of a four-year follow-on project by a new group of 19 renowned international law experts.

In addressing such topics as sovereignty, State responsibility, human rights, and the law of air, space, and the sea. Tallinn Manual 2.0 identifies 154 ‘black letter’ rules governing cyber operations and provides extensive commentary on each rule. In so doing, it further represent the views of experts in their personal capacity by way of benefiting from the unofficial input of many States and over 50 peer reviewers.

Part I, ‘General International law and cyberspace,’ Part II, ‘Specialised regimes of international law and cyberspace,’ Part III, ‘International peace and security and cyber activities’ and Part IV, ‘The law of cyber armed conflict,’ these 562 pages (excluding International Group of Experts and Participants, a Foreword by the President of the Republic of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, a further Foreword by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Bert Koenders, Short Form Citations, Table of Concordance and a Glossary) are, if nothing else, an eye opener of epic, cyber-global proportion(s).

A mere tip of the iceberg of which is conveyed by Professor Michael N. Schmitt in the Introduction: ”The Tallinn Manual’s focus was on cyber operations involving the use of force and those that occur in the context of armed conflict. Although such cyber operations will typically be more worrisome from a national security perspective than those that occur in peacetime, States have to deal with cyber issues that lie below the use of force threshold on a daily basis. There,in 2013, the NATO CCD COE launched a follow-on initiative t expand the Manual’s scope to include the public international law governing cyber operations during peacetime. To do so, it convened a new International Group of Experts consisting of scholars and practitioners with expertise in the legal regimes implicated by peace-time cyber activities.”

From such chapters as ‘Sovereignty,’ ‘Due diligence,”Jurisdiction,’ ‘Obligations of States for internationally wrongful acts,’ ‘Diplomatic and consular law,’ ‘International telecommunications law,’ ‘The law of armed conflict generally,’ ‘Conduct of hostilities,’ ‘Perfidy and improper use,’ ‘Certain persons, objects, and activities,’ ‘Occupation’ and ‘Neutrality,’ these nineteen chapters diligently deliver on some sort of unspoken promise: ”The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs generously convened States in the Hague Process and has agreed to further support dissemination of the Tallinn Manual 2.0 following its publication. This contribution by the Dutch government helped ensure the Manual is grounded in State understandings of the law and that it addresses the practical challenges States face on a daily basis.”

Undeniably grotesque as the sad thing is, especially in this day and age of the Trump, scholarly thought and consideration by experts would appear to account for nada. That’s not to say this book is without value or without merit (nothing could be further from the truth), but it’s most certainly something worth bearing in mind as we witness humanity slowly self-implode.